Display bin construction



Jan. 27, 1948. H. B. BOURLAND DISPLAY BIN CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 5, 1944 126 HarryB.Bourla1aa VWA Patented Jan. 27, 1948 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DISPLAY BIN CONSTRUCTION Harry B. Bourland, Evansville, Ind., assignor to Red Spot Paint & Varnish Company, Inc., Evansville, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application September 5, 1944, Serial No. 552,800

6 Claims. 1

This invention relates to bin constructions for the storage and display of merchandise. Among the objects of the invention are to so construct and arrange a series of component identical units that bins of various sizes and capacities may be arranged adjacent one another to form a composite whole, each unit being cooperable with any adjacent unit to firmly position a separator element.

Another object of the invention is to so construct each component bin unit that its material or stock supporting surface is elevated with reference to the main composite bin supporting surface, whereby the use of a perforated or reticulated stock supporting surface permits dust and foreign material of any sort to drop from each bin by gravity onto the main supporting surface. This greatly facilitates maintenance of a clean and orderly display of variegated stock.

Still another object of the invention i to s construct the base of each component bin unit that it will not only facilitate the positioning of bin separators, as described above, but that said base structures may be arranged to cooperate with one another and, if desired, with the wall of a marginal frame enclosing the composite assembly, to permit ready access to the main supporting surface. This facilitates removal therefrom of all dust, dirt and other foreign material which may drop through the reticulated stock supporting surfaces of the component bin units. Thus the display may be kept spotless in fact as well as in surface appearance.

An important feature of the invention resides in the various simplified and correlated structural features of the bin units, the main frame, and the bin supporting surfaces whereby the various objects and advantages heretofore enumerated may be attained at minimum cost, together with the resultant rugged construction which necessitates substantially no repair or replacement.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 5, each bin unit comprises a frame broadly indicated by the numeral In which is preferably rectangular and embodies frame members l2, M, It and 18. The particular manner in which the frame is constructed and the particular material utilized are of no great importance. However, I have found that ordinary wood frame members secured in any desirable simpl fashion, such as by nailing, are eminently suitable and particularly desirable because of their rugged nature and the ease with which a frame so constructed may be assembled.

Over one open face of the frame is secured a perforated or reticulated sheet 20. This may constitute wire netting of any suitable gauge and I have found it convenient to secure such sheet, which forms a supporting surface for the stock to be displayed, by means of staples 22.

To the opposite face of frame II) are secured elongated supporting members 24 and 26 which are of sufficient vertical dimension to support the frame in elevated position. These supporting members, which may likewise be of wood, are secured to the frame in parallelism with one another. Each supporting member extends continuously along the full length of one side of the frame and is so dimensioned and positioned with reference thereto that it projects beyond the frame an equal distance at each end as indicated at 28 and 30, and projects the same distance beyond that side of the frame which it immediately supports, as indicated at 32. Thus it will be seen that a passage or tunnel is formed beneath the frame I0 between elongated supporting members 24 and 26 and that such members project outwardly beyond the frame an equal distance on all sides thereof.

In forming a display bin assembly such as that illustrated in Fig. 1 from these component bin units, a number of them are placed adjacent one another with elongated supporting members 24 and 26 in abutting relation. The abutting supporting members, regardless of whether placed in parallelism or transversely to one another, will together form a supporting surface or seat equal to twice the Width of the projecting portion of the elongated members. Partition elements 34 are supported upon these seats when inserted in the slots formed between the sides of adjacent frame members.

Any number of units can be assembled in adjacent relation to provide a composite bin assembly of any desired formation, regardless of whether or not the elongated supporting members 24 and 26 are placed in parallelism. Bins may be varied in size to the extent that any multiple of a single unit may constitute a single bin. In Fig. 1 a quadruple-sized bin is shown in the right forward corner of the assembly and a double bin 5 is shown in the left forward corner of the assembly. Eliminating the .usual partitibnsswhich are preferably *oi? gla"s's,- "to-" provide these multiple= sized bins makes it desirable to insert fillers or after the partition unit have been seated therein. For this purpose it i necessary only to insert a shim of cardboard or other suitable material in order to tighten the assembly.

Preferably the bin units are relatively small to permit as great flexibility as possible in assemblihg the pomponen'tielements toiprovide adliaoent biris of various and unequal capacities. The use of small-unit bins likewise permits the shims of some Sort within the slots between fram -suse of standard partitions or glass divisions, which walls to prevent ingress of dust and zdirtt All; foreign material which finds its way to the stock in any one of the bins, whether it' is -deposited in the bin when the materials to be--diSPlayed iare dumped therein or whether it gathers during the course of time, ultimately settles rdowntand :drops through the openings in the stock supporting base formed by the reticulated covering 20.

To further aid in maintaining absolute cleanliness or displays -which are-susoeptible to gather- 2 ingztdustand"dir t, such as nailsynuts 'and bolts, screws, etc., and imakezit possible to easily re-' move such: foreign particles after 'they have dropped 1 down-through the reticulated 'sto'ckisup porting ibase QZELE I propose to 1 assemble the bin units 1 ill in: such manner that all-of the dust deposited ibelowzeachmnit of an'assembly may be readilyran'd :qui'c'kly removed. 1

For pllrpOsEsz-nf 'sillustration. :I have shown a suitable rform iof z assembly'zin Fig. 1 1 comprising a composite A arrangement ffixze :bin units wide and ten'binsunits slung; nnysuitablezsupport such as the 'table or icounteritfi anayabezusedias aibase or main: supportingijsurface; Atmargmalifraane B8 having=spaced ;openings'401al0ng;the :lower mar gins .of opposite side :walls; :encompasses-thetcom posite assembly. Preferablyrthe .widtl'rraof.= each opening 401s substantially equalto-the spacebetween supporting members '24 and-iiiofceach-bin unit and th'elspace between: adjacent openings 'is 40 substantially-twice the width :of' each such supporting -member. Thus :whenthe component @bin unitsyllli-are assembled; within-theaframeeiifl :a tunnel is formed salongaeach transverse line 30f bin unit-s, providingonly ithat the-base members '24 and 26 of each transverse-time t are :positioned in-endstovendrelation to one:another. If atunnel. .extending. longitudinally sof --the assembly should ..for some reason. .prove rpreferable, opena ings would be provided in theaend walls of frame 5 38 -rather than min sidetwallsaas shownaand the supportinglbasesfl .and26 would-(be aligned longitudinally-with -one anothercaoross eachelon- I gitudinal line .of bin units.

It "will therefore. be apparent that ,whatever foreign material passes throughthe reticulated stock supporting surfaces "20 iwill'ibeodeposited upon the main supporting surfacehorh tables within theztunnel "associatedwith that particular binunit." All that is necessaryto eliniinate dust and dirt from the entire assembly ,is, therefore, a stream of air directedthrougheachof the open: ings '40 successively ior the ienti'r'e length .of the composite assembly illustrated...

It islpreferable' thatlthe dimensions of frame 05 maybe modified very readily to suit the particularassemblyconstru'cted in this manner.

A -f-urther advantage deriving from this construction resides-sin the fact that an air stream directed th'rough any one of the tunnel openings 40 will have a slighttendency to pass upwardly throughth reticulated stock supporting surfaces 20:;of:.zeach bin positioned along that particular tunnel. This tends to loosen any foreign material twhichtstill remains upon the stock :and has not fallen through to the bottom-of rthe "tunnel or -main supporting surface provided, inthe form illustrated, by the-table or \counter 36.-

Various other .modifications of the basic con.- cept will berapparent to those skilled-in the-art from-the tforegoingdescription and forv that reason I .wish tolimitlmyself only within, thescope of the appended claims.

What, I 0131111152.,

f1, A composite display bin assembly. compris-i ing aamain supporting. member, .auplurality of component rectangular. .bin )blo'ckunits each having 1 a reticulated stock supporting surface and arranged ,in. juxtaposition. .up.on ssaidimember; mean selcure'clfto .each .unit for; .supportingath-e same in elevated 'position',. said .meansforming .a tunnel under the retib'ulzitions =of =aligned..units, and a frame-including opposite side -.wallsl encoma passing, the assembled units, saidtframeiincluding -spaced. aligned openingsiat the bases. of said side wa'llsrso dimensioned iandnpositionedeaseto align; respectively, with said tunnels,

2; A*composite display ,bin assembly ,compris ingj'a" main supporting member, a plurality of component rectangular 'binibldckunits each.havin'g a'retic'ulated "stock supporting surta'ce and arran edfinjuxtaposition ,upon said member, means secured to each; unit 'for .supportingthe same in elevated position and 'forminga. tunnel 0 under *the"retieulationsc'of aligned units. said means projecting'an'equal distance beyond each side'of -"each" unit whereby'*abutting supporting means form the baseof-aslotadapted to receive separatorelements-'anda'frame including opposit'e sideavalls' --'encompassirig the .assembled units, said framednc luding spaced aligned openinesat the base's- -of zsaid' -side -walls "sc -dimensioned and posi-tioned as to-align;=respectively; "withfsaid tunn'e'lsl' 31A composite --di'splely birhass embly 3 comprise ing; lunalitiy of compon'ent -rectanguia'r"bin block nit aeaoh"having-"a"reticulated-stocksupporting surface' -arranged in aligned juxtaposi tion; nponraisupporting surfaee,-'- mea-ns forming "a part iof f'each zumtsupporting the same'im ele-" vated position, said means-forming acontinuous passage :under: the 1 stock supporting surfaces of aligned 'un'rts,aand zwalllmembers encompassing the assembled units, opposite wall members hav 0 ing openingsproviding-accesssrespectivelwtosaid passages. 7

4i A :composite edisplay bin assemblymomprising,-; a p'lunality oiicomponentr rectangularbin block units each having a reticulated stock supis at times some clearance or play in the grooves porting surface arranged in aligned juxtaposition upon a supporting surface, means forming a part of each unit supporting the same in elevated position, said means forming a, continuous passage under the stock supporting surfaces of aligned units, wall members encompassing the assembled units, opposite wall members having openings providing access, respectively, to said passages, and partitions between adjacent block units seated between adjacent units upon said block elevating support means.

5. The arrangement described in claim 3 wherein each block unit-supporting and elevating means projects an equal distance beyond each side of its respective unit to abut the next adjacent elevating and supporting means to thereby form a continuous slot adapted to receive a separator.

6. A display bin comprising a plurality of bin units, each unit comprising a rectangular openfaced frame of substantial depth, a reticulated go REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

